Let's Meet Again Someday
by Trailblazer2500
Summary: In the aftermath of the last battle with Cinder, a single lone, wounded huntress searches desperately for the one lost knight who gave his life for her in the battle. To make one last promise, one last confession, and one last memory. To be able to see each other again no matter what it took.*COMPLETE*
1. Let's meet again someday

**Initial thought: I am running out of steam for writing my main fic, getting writers block,** **so what should I do to try and rejuvenate myself?**

 **Follow on thought: Just throw out a one-shot to spur yourself on, new ideas and shit.**

 **Me: But what should I do?**

 **Voice in head: Just do something for your preferred ship idiot.**

 **Me: ...Alright then.**

 **And so I made this fic**

 **Do enjoy.**

* * *

A burnt, ashen landscape,

Flames flickering and slowly dying,

Tall trees twisted, destroyed and blackened from heat,

An area pockmarked with craters,

And in the midst of all this…

A lone woman, red cloak tattered and barely hanging to her shoulders, blowing gently in the hot wind as she staggered forward slowly one step at a time, her body teetering on the brink of collapse as she swayed this way and that. She was leaning on a great scythe for support for one of her legs was too wounded to be used, having been struck with an arrow which had broken off, the weapon itself was worn and heavily damaged from the prior battle; her breathing was ragged, coming in great gasps and heaves as she stumbled forward, her head swiveling right and left, desperately searching for something.

Her eyes widened when her gaze fell open a broken body lying on its back.

Putting whatever strength was left into her legs, she hobbled over to it as fast as she could, however while nearing the body her other leg gave out from under her and she was sent tumbling to the ground crying and wailing out in pain as she held her wounds tightly, her scythe clattering away to the side. She took several deep breaths and sucked in a lungful of air, biting back another gasp of pain, squeezing her eyes shut and willing the sensations away.

With all her remaining strength she reached out with both hands to drag her battered body across the ground on her elbows and knees by her fingers, slowly, painfully, inch by agonizing inch towards the body on the ground. Grinding her lower jaw against her upper jaw with every echo of pain that lanced through her body.

At last, she reached out with one trembling hand and her fingers lightly brushed against the palm of the body's hand.

"Jaune…" Ruby hissed in pain, gasping and choking on her own breath, her throat was parched from the battle, she had a small canteen filled with water hanging from her belt, but at the moment none of that was her concern.

Her only concern was the burnt and broken body of her fallen comrade in front of her.

Ruby pulled herself up onto her knees to look at the body, he was lying with his face to one side, his armor shattered in places with his clothing just as torn and damaged as her own, a third of his face had been burnt in the battle, "Jaune…?" The voice that said it dared to hope, to plead for the still body in front of her to show any sign of life.

"Oh…Jaune…" Ruby's voice cracked and before she knew it, a pain erupted in her chest like a knife had slammed through it, she nearly fell on top of him, choking and sobbing, her body quivering, salty tears flowing freely from her eyes as she crouched low over the still body of her fallen friend.

 _No, not just a friend anymore._ A voice in her head corrected her, they almost had something between them, something more than just mere friendship, or perhaps it was more accurate to say they _did_ have something. Something born out of a mutual friendship between two socially awkward idiots, something born from shared grief at the loss of their friends, something intangible and yet somehow, at the same time all too real to be dismissed.

" _You're strong, I'll give you that much." Cinder huffed as she approached the fallen Ruby crawling on the ground struggling to reach Crescent Rose._

" _But what made you think you could succeed…" Cinder smirked as she powered up a fireball in one hand, "When your own pathetic champion failed?"_

 _The memory of the fallen Pyrrha blazed in Ruby's mind as she glared with bared teeth at the Fall Maiden._

" _Well I guess you should prepare to join her…" Cinder clasped her hands together before pulling them apart to reveal a large fireball in her hands. "In the hereafter."_

" _NO!" A scream rang out, a figure burst from the side of Ruby's view and charged right at Cinder._

" _I'm not letting you…!" Jaune snarled, "You're not taking anyone else I love!" He screamed in rage as he pushed against her._

"Wake up Jaune…" She gasped out between choked sobs, " _Please_ wake up, I…" She tried to bite back a sob but failed, "…don't...want...to _lose_ you…" Her own words felt heavy, she inhaled and exhaled sharply as she pressed the heel of her hands into her eyes, choking and letting more tears fall.

" _Please Jaune…"_ She raised one fist above his chest, and weakly brought it down onto his chest with a soft thump, " _Please wake up._ " She pleaded desperately as her body shook from her sobbing.

No response, not a breath or a twitch, his body remained perfectly still.

"No…" Her forehead slumped against his broken chestplate.

 _It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair!_ Thoughts echoing and bouncing back and forth in her mind.

"Jaune…"

 _Why? Why?! WHY?!_

"Please…"

 _What's the use? What good is a hero who can't protect her friends?_

"WAKE UP!" Ruby screamed, a despairing cry to the heavens as she brought her fist down with more strength this time, the force making Jaune's body shudder and-

Jaune coughed.

Ruby's breath hitched in her throat as her eyes widened considerably.

"Jaune?" The merest flicker of hope had grown, "Jaune! It's me Ruby!" Ruby quickly bent over him, her tears falling down onto his face.

A rough gasp sounded out, Jaune's eyes opened a crack, he was beginning to breathe, short and in small gasps at a time.

"Ru…by…?" His voice was hoarse, soft, straining to get out even a single word, crackling with dryness.

"Yeah," Ruby smiled and held his hand tightly, "It's me." She sniffed and dabbed a tear rolling across her cheek.

Jaune relaxed a little and returned a weak smile of his own, "Is…she….?" He struggled to even gasp out, his contorting as he tried to force the words out, a single tear fell from one of his eyes, rolling down the side of his face as he struggled.

"We did it Jaune," Ruby cradled his face gently, "We avenged Pyrrha," She swallowed a lump in her throat, a smile settled onto Jaune's face when he said that, even though a part of it was mangled from his burn it still looked beautiful to Ruby, and she did not bother suppressing the small giggle that came out of her.

Jaune's face contorted again and his eyes went wide, more tears falling from them, "I…" He choked and gasped, "I…" His shoulder shifted as he struggled to move his other hand upwards. Ruby immediately grabbed it with her other hand and placed it on his chest.

"Shhh," Ruby placed a finger to his lips to hush him, "Save your breath, Ren and Nora went to get help so it'll be ok." She adjusted her position and his body so that she could rest his head on her lap with one arm supporting his head and another on his chest. She took out her water canteen and placed its near Jaune's lip.

He opened his mouth slowly as Ruby tipped it and let the last small gulp flow down Jaune's throat.

He choked, spluttering and coughing and a little Ruby quickly withdrew the bottle and put it away.

"Sorry sorry!" She apologized profusely as she cleared some of the water away from his chin; he looked up at her with eyes full of exhaustion.

"Ruby…I…I…" The water had made his voice clearer, but every word had to be forced out of his mouth slowly, Ruby quickly covered his mouth.

"I said save your breath, you'll be just fine," She tried her best to reassure him and herself, but her heart was still beating furiously, going off like a jackhammer against her chest, Jaune was badly injured and he would not survive for much longer, she herself had no aura, if help did not come soon they would both be doomed.

He shook his head ever so slightly, one hand coming up to gently take her hand off her mouth.

"That was stupid of you," Ruby said, trying her best to keep a conversation going, distracting the both of them from any imminent thoughts of an end.

His eyes seemed to widen in confusion, she smiled at him in turn.

"You shouldn't have taken that hit for me like that."

"Ruby…you…" He struggled, "…were…al…ways…" Ruby slapped her hand right back over his mouth and leaned downward so that her face was right in front of his.

" _Don't say it_ Jaune," She whispered frantically, "Don't let it be your last words; I want to hear you say it to me when we're safe ok?" Ruby did her best to smile at him, "C'mon _vomit boy_ ," She tried teasing to lighten the mood, "Just think…in a little while we'll be on a bullhead flying out of here and I don't think Weiss would appreciate you vomiting all over her ship."

"I…don't know…if…ake…it…" His breathing was ragged, uneven as he cracked a thin smile.

"No don't say that!" Ruby shook her head, "You'll make it! And when you do we'll call Weiss ice queen again, you can…you can groan when Yang puns again, you can…you can…" Now the exhaustion was taking Ruby as well, she slumped over his body, her own aching in all the places that were not feeling numb.

"I'm sure…we'll…meet again…someday…" His voice was just the barest of a whisper now.

"NO!" Ruby shouted stubbornly, she clutched his head tighter into the crook of her neck, "Don't say that! You're going to be fine Jaune!" Tears were beginning to fall all over again, "You're going to be fine! _Promise…"_ Her voice was wracked with pain and anguish, She inhaled sharply, " _Promise me_ you'll be fine! An Arc always keeps a promise right? Right?!" She was practically screaming at him now.

"Don't make promises…" His voice was fading; his eyes were slowly closing "th…can't eep…"

"No! NO!" Ruby shouted, the tears falling free once again, she held his body closer and tighter than ever, "Stay here with me! Don't go! Don't…don't _leave_ me…" She was now sobbing again. She stared upward into the sky as little rivulets well from her chin, begging for some kind of sign that Jaune was going to be ok.

There was nothing, not a gasp of wind.

"Don't cry Ruby…" Jaune's voice brought her face back down, "I…hate to…see you…" He barely mouthed the last word.

"HOW CAN I NOT?!" Ruby screamed her voice out, she was starting to breathe heavily again, her head turning back and forth, desperately looking for the rest of her friends, silently begging them to come to her faster.

And then the silence got too much for her, "REN?! NORA?!" She called out as loudly as she could, "Where are you…" More a statement than a question.

And then she heard a growl coming from in front of her, her head shot up, recognizing the sound immediately.

One…no…two…three…a whole pack of beowolves was slowly surrounding them, their teeth bared, voices growling deeply, faces glaring right at the two wounded hunters.

"Get…out of…here." Jaune stared at her, "save…your…self…"

"I don't care about that!" Ruby growled, "I'm not leaving you." She looked to her side, Crescent Rose was still functioning, but she had not the strength to fight back, she barely had the strength to keep herself upright. She felt like the world had fallen out beneath her, there was no escape here.

 _This is it then, we're going to die…_ She looked down sadly at Jaune, "I guess this is it for us."

Despite his lack of energy, Jaune still managed to look horrified, "Ruby…please…I…" Ruby huddled his body in response and smiled.

"It's ok…it'll be ok…" Empty reassurances, they were surrounded, wounded, without any forthcoming help.

" _Love_ you." Jaune forced out with one breath.

Ruby bit her lower lip and lowered her head slightly, gasping as tears fell onto Jaune's chestplate, she turned her head slightly so that they could look each other in the eye, "I…" A harsh gasp sounded from her, "love you too Jaune." She answered in return.

"It was always you…" Somehow that declaration seemed to breathe a little bit more life into him.

"Since the first day huh?" Ruby was smiling awkwardly as she watched one beowolf advance on them slowly, "You made me happy you know? That day when everyone else left me alone, and then this blonde boy just walked up to me and…" She giggled, somehow even in their situation that day still made her smile and laugh, "And you remember what he said?"

"Strangers…are just…"

"Friends you haven't met yet." Ruby completed for him, "I'm so happy I met you Jaune."

"You too… _crater face_." Jaune nodded with a smile, Ruby heard someone laughing, and then realized that _she_ was laughing even as the beowolf drew closer and closer.

She looked up and gave what she thought would be one last defiant stare in the face of death.

A series of explosions all around interrupted her thoughts, she ducked down low, covering Jaune with her own body to try to protect him from the debris and dirt being kicked up around, the one beowolf in front of her was startled and howled, backing away in confusion as its pack died.

Ruby looked up, just in time for a bullhead with a snowflake emblem on it to streak right overhead, making her duck again, it unleashed its machinegun fire on the remaining beowolves, wiping them out.

"Hey!" a cheery voice came up as Nora appeared in the distance waving her arms madly, "We're back!"

An incredible grin crossed Ruby's face, a warm feeling swelled in her chest and she swallowed back a sob as her eyes widened happily, "They're here! They made it! You're going to be fine Jaune!" She looked down to the man she held in her arms, "Jaune did you hear me? You're going to be…" Her voice fell off as she looked at the limp body in her arms, his eyes closed and with a small, sad little smile on his face.

"Jaune…?"

 _Let's meet again someday…_

 _I love you Ruby…_

* * *

 **So how was it? I'm aiming to try to make something that could maybe possibly give a reader feels, and not just make them go "Oh that's depressing as shit."**

 **Writing scenes that actually make others feel is definitely something difficult but also something I want to at least try, I've made readers laugh, get angry and get depressed. But make a reader actually sad? That's something I've never been able to accomplish.**

 **Whenever I think of all the scenes on TV or film or games that actually give me a feels trip, its always the perfect combination of atmosphere, character, music, writing, words, actions and expressions and its all the more incredible for it, I enjoy deriving inspiration from them.**

 **But writing?**

 **Writing only has** **words for it, as they say 'a picture paints a thousand words', and there are things that cannot be expressed in words at all.**

 **I confess that it's a little difficult for to me to _feel_ purely by writing, imagining a scene in your head and getting emotional about it is one thing, it is entirely another to try and write it out. It's a weird balancing act between portraying the emotions clearly and not getting bogged down in flowery descriptions, giving just enough information to let the reader imagine for themselves the scene while ensuring that the emotions are still represented, it's really difficult since I wouldn't really consider myself a natural writer.**

 **With that in mind I really want to be able to hear your thoughts on this, where I can improve, what I should do, tips for any future pieces of writing?**

 **Do leave a review if possible.**


	2. Chasing the Endless Dream

**This was supposed to be only a one-shot, but I got an idea for a small continuation so I just decided "why the heck not?" and after the apparent relative success of the first chapter, wrote a second chapter to accompany the first one. This one definitely hits the feels a lot LESS, mostly because the first part is an action sequence and its not all doom and gloom.**

* * *

"Show yourself _Bluebeard_." A sharp voice hissed and echoed throughout the massive, empty cavern. Into this space dimly lit by strange glowing lights around them, strode a tall woman clad in a red cloak emblazoned with the insignia of a red rose with the hood pulled over her head, in one hand resting against her shoulder was a large, red scythe. Her signature weapon that no one else had, thusly marking her out as one of Remnant's most dangerous hunters currently in existence.

"It's _over_." She continued as she strode forward confidently from the small passageway which she had emerged from. She let her scythe down and held it in front of her, the blade gleaming in the light.

A dark, low hoarse chuckle, like the sound of dull drum beats echoed back in response, "It's not over yet little rose; in fact…it is only just beginning."

"Your cult has fallen," Ruby spat, "and I believe…" She gave her scythe a twirl, "You're not doing so well yourself." She smirked as her eyes scanned the room, flicking left and right to watch for the slightest hint of movement.

Another chuckle, " _She_ whispered to me of this," His voice seemed to gain a sense of wonder, "She _told_ me of the things to come." The voice paused for a moment, "She _told_ _me_ of _death_ , _ruin, destruction_ …the _end_ of all humanity."

"Then she too will fall in time," Ruby responded, spinning backwards as a shadow caught her eye, "We're stronger than you think." She bared her teeth and turned back to face her front.

"Oh so arrogant," The voice laughed, "Is that what you believe…?" A figure seemed to materialise in the darkness a distance away. Ruby needed no second confirmation, in an instant she leapt into action, her semblance carrying her forward in the blink of an eye, scythe raised, poised to annihilate the figure and end him once and for all.

"Ruby."

A familiar voice that once rang in her ears echoed out across the cavern. Her breath caught in her throat as she halted her every movement in that instant, stopping bare inches from taking the figure's head off as the figure stepped out into the light, revealing himself fully before her as she slowly recoiled in stunned silence.

"J-Jaune…? No…" Ruby drew back with her eyes wide in shock, her jaw agape, opening and closing silently with no words being spoken as the identical likeness of her former comrade-in-arms, partner, and would-be lover looked upon her with sorrowful eyes. She took a step back slowly, "It…it can't be…" She pulled her scythe back uncertainly.

And then "Jaune" cast a wicked smirk

He roared, like the sound of hurricane it shook the entire cavern and send Ruby reeling backwards. A crackling sound like thunder came upon them, and Ruby looked up just in time to see a large part of the cavern ceiling detach and drop down coming right for her. She quickly jumped back as he hit the ground and exploded in her face, showering her with debris and throwing her back onto the floor. She bit her lower lip as she felt power well up in herself, the same power she had inherited from her mother that she could now summon up at will.

She let loose a wail of anguish as her body rose off the floor, eyes gleaming brightly as she let loose a shockwave of power that sent the figure flying backwards, slamming into the cavern floor as Ruby raced forward with her scythe held high once again. She jumped high and came own on top of him, intending to smash the blade right through his face. He shifted his head just little to the side, dodging it just in time, but before he could respond, the reaper surprisingly let go of her weapon and was on top of him in the blink of an eye pinning him down. She raised one fist and smashed it right into his face with all her might, the blow loud enough to echo off the walls.

"You're not Jaune!" She screamed as she poured out all of her rage and hatred into every blow that she sent right into his smug face, "You're nothing like him!" She yelled as she slammed her fists again and again into him, pounding with burning anger fuelling every strike.

And then to her shock, "Jaune" caught both of her fists and grinned manically, "You _can't save_ them," He rose up, slowly forcing Ruby backwards, "Just as you couldn't save _him."_ His voice was every bit in the likeness of Jaune's own voice, with the addition of a cruel, sadistic tone. A complete and utter perversion of the very same voice, the one belonging to the man that she had once longed to see and hear so much every single day of her waking life.

A cry of pain,

A laugh of malevolence,

 _Stupid, stupid,_ the reaper cursed in her mind.

"That's right." Bluebeard grinned maliciously as he released Jaune's form and revealed his true form, a wrinkled and emaciated old man wearing a torn and tattered black robe with its hood pulled low over his face. He forced Ruby onto her back with almost supernatural strength and gripped her throat with both hands, throttling her as hard as he could, Ruby struggled mightily clawing at his hand and trying to kick him with her legs as he bent over her now fallen form on the body. Unfortunately Ruby had never been much of a physical fighter, and with the rest of her team separated in the trap and herself caught unawares…

Every exhalation meant that his grip got tighter and tighter, Ruby could already feel her head beginning to swim from the lack of air as she desperately fought his grip, and yet she continued to fight for as long as possible, every second she was awake meant one more second that her own team could get to her, one more second that she could still put up a fight against her assailant.

One more second of life.

But perhaps it was not to be, perhaps that grinning visage of his was the last thing that she would see as her vision began to darken and her eyes rolled back into her skull. Her flailing began to weaken slowly, her arms and legs slowly going limp as she gasped her last few breaths out of her throat weakly, all the while still trying to get him off of her.

"The legend of the silver-eyes," Bluebeard hissed, " _Dies tonight_." He continued grinning as he tightened his grip one final time and Ruby felt her world go dark.

She felt herself falling, endlessly falling through empty space, her eyes remained tightly shut as she felt her limbs go weak as she tumbled through an empty nothingness, a weight seemed to lift off of her body as she continued on. It seemed to go on for an eternity, endless falling and tumbling forever downwards to an end that she did not know about. Eventually she seemed to slow and come to a stop, an incredibly warm and comforting feeling washed over her entire being and she let out a sigh of relief as she came to a halt with her head propped up and the rest of her body lying flat on her back.

She felt as though she could breathe again, the air was fresh and cool, a breeze wafted over her face as she felt herself lie against soft grass and…

" _Ruby?" A soft voice seemed to pierce the darkness._

" _Jaune?" Ruby's felt like her heart was about to burst at the rate it was going, she was just about to open her eyes when she felt a hand come down over them._

 _He laughed, a sound that was pure music to her ears, "Keep your eyes closed for now ok?"_

" _Why though? I want to see you again." Ruby insisted but kept still, basking in the warmth and comfort he gave to her._

" _Hmm, it's a secret." He answered after a short pause._

" _Aw, come on Jaune!" Ruby pouted and folded her arms but kept still and made no effort to move, "Is this the afterlife?" She asked._

"… _Yeah, seems so." She swore she could see him nodding through her closed eyes._

" _It feels so warm…and peaceful here…" Ruby said as she relaxed into him._

"… _I know…," He seemed rather sad even as he caressed her face lovingly, Ruby reached up with one hand to touch his own, gently intertwining her hand with his own._

" _I like it here; can I stay here with you?" She asked softly._

" _Ruby…" His voice was full of unhappiness and misery. Sensing this, Ruby tried to peel his hand away from her face so that she could see him, to comfort him for whatever reason he might be sad for._

" _Jaune…?" He kept his grip firm though, and no amount of pulling would get it off of her face, "Jaune c'mon." She continued trying to pry his hand off,_

" _I'm sorry Ruby." He whispered_

 _Ruby's breath caught in her throat, "Wha…what's going on?"_

" _It's not your time yet…you still have a fight to finish my rose,"_ _He whispered softly into her ear. Ruby's heart leapt into her mouth._

" _No…I don't want-" She tried to protest._

" _But you must!" He harshly interrupted, "I may be gone, but the world still needs you, the world still needs its guardian and until such time that it doesn't, I will wait here for you for as long as I have to," He pressed his lips to her forehead, "Until I see you again."_

Ruby's eyes snapped open with one sharp gasp, baring her teeth with her face contorting in rage at Bluebeard. The cultist leader was so taken aback for a moment that he jerked his head back a little even as he kept his hand on Ruby's throat. Ruby grabbed onto the arm with one hand, her eyes glaring holes into him as she restrained him.

"Wha- impossible! You should be dead by now!" Bluebeard tightened his grip, but Ruby was not concerned about that at the moment. With one hand still holding his arm, her other arm shot out and slammed into his face, she pressed one finger right into his eye, eliciting a scream as he tore his hands away from her throat to his face. Ruby let go with a quick gasp of air and seized a grenade from her belt, flicking the ring aside she stuffed it right into his tattered robes as he screamed in agony. She raised one leg and savagely kicked him in the face, sending him tumbling away crying out as she rolled onto her front and scrambled for a cover along the opposite side of the cavern.

Activating her semblance with her last sliver of aura, she dashed madly and careened over the wall just as Bluebeard disintegrated in an explosion that rocked the area. Crashing onto her back breathing heavily, lying completely stock still spread-eagled as her mind tried to come to grips with what had just transpired.

And then it all came back in a flood of emotions, the touch of his hands on her face, his gentle voice in her ears, the feel of his warm breath on her face. And before she knew it she was sobbing and choking, tears cascading down the sides of her face. She had felt all of that and even now her body still tingled from his touch. She sobbed quietly as she lay there, slowly lifting one hand to finger the spot on her forehead where he had kissed her, it still tingled from his touch.

"Jaune…" She wept uncontrollably, "Oh Jaune…I'm…so sorry." She choked and sobbed even as she lay there, oblivious to her surroundings

 _I'm sorry I couldn't save you_

 _I'm sorry I couldn't say the things that should've been said_

 _I could only be there for you at the end_

She did not hear Weiss's screaming

She did not hear the thud of boots as Blake skidded to a halt beside her.

She did not hear Yang frantically speaking to her.

All she heard was his voice still echoing in her ears.

 _Just wait for me Jaune…_

 _Please wait for me…_

 _I'll definitely see you again…_

* * *

 **Little bit of background, I like to think that in the events leading up to the previous chapter, Jaune and Ruby have had a bit of sexual tension going on between them that they just never got the chance to resolve properly, Jaune would've tried to maybe start a conversation here and there about where they're going but Ruby is entirely focused on the fight against Cinder,** **and that's why Ruby is apologizing to him for not being able to say what they both should have said to each other before the battle. She deeply regrets not being able to be together-together with Jaune until the very last moment leading up to his untimely demise.**

 **The experience noticeably hardens her, perhaps she starts to detach herself a little more from the rest of her team, acting on her own, determined to make sure that no one else dies in front of her the way that Jaune did, so she ends up chasing this villain all on her own with the rest of her team having to chase after her. She eventually manages to corner him in his hideout after eliminating the rest of his group but ends up falling into a trap.**

 **Now a little bit about the villain, Bluebeard (aka Gilles de Rais) was an occultist sometime way back in medieval France who is apparently convicted of dozens of child murders or something, I know of his legend from Fate/Zero and most curiously he was one of Joan of Arc's companions during her little stint during the hundred years war.**

 **Ok I'm not saying that he's in any way, shape or form related to Jaune but...I dunno, it could open up an interesting avenue and opportunity for development if one of Jaune's family (his uncle or something) turned out to be working for the enemy.**

 **Just a thought.**

 **Anyhow, I do have an idea for a THIRD chapter, and I do** **want to try and get it out before V4 hits, and its kinda sorta half done, just not entirely sure I can finish and polish it before V4 hits.**

 **In any case, I really appreciate all your thoughts on this chapter, I know that its not necessarily as feels-heavy as the first chapter, but I just really wanted to get it out and ask what you thought about it, its primarily because I like the idea that in canon a villain could impersonate Pyrrha just to fuck with everyone and essentially go about taunting them for their failure to help their friend etc.**

 **So I really want to hear your thoughts about this!**

 **Cheers and until next time!**


	3. Together once again

**YES I FINALLY MANAGED TO FINISH THIS!**

 **Oh god this took positively forever, but I'm happy to finally finish this little side-project!**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

A broken wasteland lay underneath a blood red sky, and set all was silent below. The area was pockmarked by craters and swathes in the landscape as though a large blade had come down and slashed the very ground itself, the jagged edges of rock formations jutting out of the landscape had been mostly pulverized in the wild and titanic battle between the two forces, one fighting for the survival of humanity and the other for its destruction. In the end, after a long and hard-fought battle, it finally came down to its final moments.

"Look at you…" The pale witch cooed mockingly as she stood over the fallen reaper, Crescent Rose lay at one side, its large, curved blade shattered into pieces with the rest of its body twisted and broken beyond recognition. It's wielder lay on her stomach, crawling her way forward with teeth bared and gnashing in frustration and fury as the witch followed her slowly as the reaper left a bloody trail on the ground.

"Still struggling all this while…" Salem smirked mockingly as Ruby continued her futile struggle to reach her broken weapon, "and still so powerless." Ruby did her best to ignore the witch as she strolled easily and gently, as if she were out on a simply morning walk as opposed to getting ready to finish off another one of humanity's protectors.

Ruby could feel the metallic taste of blood well up in her mouth.

"So much like your mother…" And then she laughed a hollow, mocking laugh, "Oh wait, if I remember correctly, Summer Rose died even more pathetically." Ruby forced the words out of her head as she tried to continue pulling herself forward; her body was practically numb with pain.

"Shall I tell you how she died? Hmm…" Salem continued strolling along as Ruby made one last grab for her weapon, "Well she died pitifully, begging for me to let her go, desperate to see the family that she would be leaving behind, her poor daughters…that foolish blonde man…that useless bird and his sister…" Ruby gripped the handle of Crescent Rose as Salem put her foot down on it.

"Futile, pathetic, worthless, she lived for nothing and died for nothing… _and you can join her in oblivion_." Her last words were hissed out with brutal malevolence as she seized Ruby by her collar and held her up so that they were face to face.

"What does it feel like I wonder…?" A ghastly grin crossed Salem's face as she reared one arm back, "Knowing that you have failed everyone, and doomed humanity to extinction?" A loud cackle sounded from her as Ruby grabbed desperately at the arm holding her up in the air, "Well…you may rest easy now little rose, for soon nothing of this world will remain… _but my laughter_."

"No…" Ruby gasped out as Salem's eyes went wide with anticipation as she snapped her hand forward and straight for Ruby's throat.

To her shock, the reaper snatched her wrist with one of her own hands as it was barely inches away from her throat, holding it off to one side as she glared right back at Salem who in turn narrowed her eyes a little. Using her strength, she slowly pressed her hand forward against Ruby's steadily weakening hold.

" _There there little reaper_ ," She sneered, "No need to struggle, it will all be over soon."

Mustering all of her strength, Ruby gave one last cry as she drew deep from within herself to summon up every last ounce of power she could find, much to the shock of the witch she pulled Salem's hand away and thrust her other hand forward to grip the witch's face tightly.

"Gah! _What're you doing_?!" She shrieked and clawed at the hand desperately as Ruby's eyes glowed brightly, welling all of her available power for one last strike. She screamed, Salem screamed, Ruby's eyes lit up in one last flare of might and power, the glow expanding and covering her entire body, spreading onto the witch as it did so and engulfing both of them in a tremendous light that lit up the area like the sun itself had come into being, purging away the eerie, glowing landscape.

Ruby pressed on as she felt herself slip away, every ounce of her being going into burning the witch away permanently from existence amid horrified screaming, burning away the last obstacle preventing humanity from being truly free of the dark. The reaper felt her entire world go bright white as she finally overwhelmed Salem and the witch disintegrated into nothing before her very eyes.

And then everything went dark.

She felt a familiar feeling again, one that she had felt many times before; she was falling in the seemingly endless, all-encompassing darkness again. She knew however where she would end up, that she would eventually come to a slow stop right where he would be, at that place where they could see each other, touch each other and speak to each other for as long as they could. Very soon, she felt herself slow down until she felt herself lie flat on the ground, warm sunlight bathed her face.

She slowly opened her eyes and sat up straight.

It was a familiar scene to her.

The endless meadow of green grass and bright flowers, a calm wind sweeping over the flat and empty plain with a gentle whisper, and in the distance, she could just make out through squinted eyes a tall hill on which stood a large tree where a figure could be seen sitting with its knees to its chest in the dark shade. The figure seemed to rock back and forth at times as if it were just trying to distract itself while it waited for something to happen.

She glanced down and held her hands out in front of her, Crescent Rose was no longer there as it usually was, and just as well that the weapon that she had so long considered not just a part of her, but an _extension_ of her very being had slipped through her grasp and disappeared from her side for where she was going, she would not ever be needing such a thing ever again.

A smile graced Ruby's face as she took one step forward and began walking towards the hill with the figure on it, never once looking back over her shoulder, focusing all of her attention in front of her as she strode with confidence, her red cloak wafting gently in the wind as she made her way towards the hill in the distance. She stepped over the soft grass, her mind thinking of the journey that had led her all the way up to this one moment, the horrors of war, the feeling of death around every corner, the knowledge that failure spelt doom for the human race. All of that seemed to fall away with every step she took; every burden seemed to get lighter and lighter as she walked forward and onwards to the end of the dream.

She imagined being able to touch him once again; her head nestled under his own, arms wrapped around each other tightly, both holding onto the other as tightly as though their un-lives depended on it. The words that they would say to each other after such a long time spent apart in different lives…

And then it just became too much for Ruby to bear any longer.

She ran, ran and ran one footstep after the other, running onwards and through the dream which she had had an uncountable number of times since _he_ had passed away in her arms. She had to see him again no matter what, that dream of the blonde knight sitting on a lonely hill in the shade of a tall tree high above a meadow of green grass filled with flowers with a cool, gentle breeze blowing all over it. Oh how many times had she chased that dream she could not remember, never once being able to reach the summit of the hill, always waking up the moment that she placed one foot on its slope. She felt light, she felt like she would never run out of breath as she ran ever closer to the hill on which the figure sat quietly all by himself.

As she neared the foot of the hill, something made her slow, made her come slowly to a halt at the very foot of the hill. She looked up, looking at the figure that sat quietly in the shade of the tall tree; she could see him more clearly now that she was closer, make out some of the distinctive features that she remembered so clearly about him.

His messy blonde hair

That black hoodie of his

The blue jeans

He did not wear the armour that he used to wear though, gone was the chest-plate and gauntlet and greaves that he used to wear. He seemed to notice her, and rose to his feet.

A smile crept onto her face as she began slowly walking up the hill, feeling just as light as she did before but with a renewed sense of belonging and finality. Her heart thumped in her chest as she walked towards him. She wondered if he still felt for her after all this time, wondered if all of her chasing of that endless dream of him was worth it, hoped in her heart as she ascended to the top of the hill that they could still be together once again.

She reached the top of the hill, standing just a short distance away from him such that she could fully take in all of his features now.

Those blue eyes that she had often found herself lost in

The smile that warmed her heart and encouraged her onward

The face that she had fallen in love with

And of course…

"Hey crater face," Jaune grinned as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Hey vomit boy," Ruby did not even notice the tears running down her own face as she returned the smile, and as Jaune took one step forward towards her, she lunged forward and tackled him with her arms around her neck, tears flowing freely from her eyes now. He wrapped his own arms around her as they spun around, both holding the other as tightly as possible, determined never to let go of the other ever again.

"Ruby…I'm-" Jaune tried to start.

"You idiot…" Ruby cut off as she slowly turned her head up to look at him with the last few tears falling from her eyes, "I've…missed you _so much_."

"…I know." He whispered, "and I'm sorry."

He leaned down slowly and she turned her head up to meet him, their lips met slowly, there was no force or energy in their kiss, just the overwhelming passion between the two for the things that they should have said but could not say until it was too late for either of them. When they separated, neither was gasping for breath, but both were flushed as Ruby tucked her head under his chin, Jaune let them both down gently until they were lying down on the grass with Ruby curled on her side on top of Jaune.

There they lay for an unknown amount of time, just staying in each other's embrace, holding onto each other tightly. Jaune was looking up into the sky, watching the clouds pass by while Ruby closed her eyes, pressing her ear to his chest, listening for his heartbeat.

Finally however, Jaune spoke, "You know everyone is waiting for you now," He said.

"Hmm?" Ruby hummed curiously.

"Yeah, there's your father, your uncle, Pyrrha's here to, and Penny as well, but most important of all…" He trailed off for dramatic effect, "Your mother is waiting to see you."

"Really?!" Ruby got up and looked at Jaune right in the eye, he nodded in response.

"Why don't we go see them now?" He sat up on his hands, to his surprise however, instead of getting off of him, Ruby chose to snuggle back down on her side.

"Wait…" Ruby reached out with one had to press Jaune's shoulder, pushing him back onto the ground.

"Ruby?" He lifted an eyebrow questioningly, "Is something wrong?"

"I think they can wait, just stay here with me for just a little while longer ok?" She closed her eyes as she adjusted herself to lie in the crook of his neck.

Jaune smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, "Of course, we can stay however long you want." He closed his eyes as well, feeling the cool breeze waft over them.

"I love you Jaune."

"I love you too Ruby."

And so it was, that on that little hill in the shade of the tall tree where two souls, bound together for all eternity by their love for each other, who had suffered through great hardships together in life, had finally been rewarded with this peaceful and quiet world just for each other.

A world filled with tranquillity

A world with no troubles

A world of dreams

A world where they had finally met each other again

* * *

 **I see your ghostjobs Arkos and raise you:**

 **Fate/RWBY: Realta Nua Lancaster route ending**

 **Har har har**

 **This one noticeably lacks in the sadness department, this time it's just nothing but WAFF or Warm And Fuzzy Feelings. It's because ultimately, I'm a sucker for a happy ending, I really am, so after you all apparently bawled your eyes out –if your reviews are any indication- let me give you something a little lighter.**

 **So there it is.**

 **You know an idea I had that could really wrap this whole thing up?**

 **The ending narration is Yang Xiao Long telling stories to a new class of students at Signal where she now teaches basic combat skills. She's essentially telling her story one class at a time after regular training, describing from her point of view the development of Jaune and Ruby's relationships and the hardships that they both faced all the way up until they were finally together in death.**

 **Now wouldn't that be a real kicker?**

 **The ending is basically her imagining what her little sister is doing in the hereafter together with Jaune.**

 **In any case, this the conclusive end of the story, do give a moment to review it and tell me what you think yeah? I really enjoyed reading your reviews telling me that it was indeed a rather sad story, so now I want to know what you think of this happier -albeit still bittersweet- ending that I've come up with!**


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